Economics Department
It's been a wild ride for MAE '10 alumnus Peter Devine. His path to becoming a staff economist for the Council of Economic Advisers in the Executive Office of the President was a bit unconventional. Having just graduated ROTC and with orders to begin Naval flight training, Devine was an unlikely aspiring economist and, in his own words, “a bit of a gamble.” However, two years of top-flight graduate education at Duke launched Devine into a life as a Navy pilot. Devine’s orders took him to an Air Force base in… read more about The Economist Fighter Pilot »
Two Duke University seniors are among the 41 recipients of the prestigious Marshall Scholarship, the program announced Monday. Yasa Baig of Foxborough, Massachusetts, and James Marek of Yardley, Pennsylvania, have been chosen from applicants throughout the country. Approximately 40 Marshall Scholarships are awarded each year to high-achieving American students to pursue post-graduate studies at any university in the UK in any field. The award covers all university fees, cost-of-living expenses and many other… read more about Two Duke Seniors Join 2022 Marshall Scholars for Graduate Study in the United Kingdom »
Two Duke University students and one Duke Kunshan University student -- have been named Schwarzman Scholars, a program that funds one year of study in Beijing. They are among 151 scholars that will begin the program in August of 2022. Seniors Jessica Edelson and Jessie Xu are recipients from the Durham campus. Wanying He, a senior in Duke Kunshan University’s inaugural undergraduate class, has become the first student from DKU to be named a Schwarzman Scholar. The scholars develop leadership skills… read more about Three Students from Duke, Duke Kunshan Receive Schwarzman Scholarships for Graduate Study in China »
DURHAM, N.C. – The emergence of the new Omicron COVID-19 variant may actually help the U.S. economy by dulling rising inflation. But in the longer term, it may hinder the recovery of supply chain problems plaguing the delivery of goods around the globe, further taxing the economy, two Duke University experts said Tuesday. Duke economists Emma Rasiel and Connel Fullenkamp discussed myriad issues related to inflation, the U.S. and global economy, and the impact of the new COVID variant during a virtual media briefing for… read more about Inflation and Omicron: Don’t Panic, Don’t Horde, Experts Advise »
By the time he was a junior, Brian Zorb ’09 knew he wanted to pursue a career in finance that diverged from the investment banking and sales and trading paths many of his peers were taking. An internship experience at a brokerage firm in his hometown sparked his interest in investment decision-making. “I was much more focused on asset management/investment management jobs and being outside of New York City, and that was pretty unique,” he said. In the spring semester of 2008, Zorb signed up to be among the first group of… read more about “People First” Drives Cycles of Mentorship in Duke Financial Economics Center »
The Econ faculty and staff celebrating anniversaries this year include (from top left): Atila Abdulkadiroglu, Daniel Yi Xu, Lori Zagiba, Patrick Bayer, Atilla Ambrus, Kevin Hoover, Erica Field, Chris Geddings and Adam Rosen, as well as Addie Stagg (not pictured). Ten Economics faculty and staff members are celebrating major departmental anniversaries this year. As we celebrate the years they have spent with Duke Econ, we want to acknowledge the role their knowledge, expertise and… read more about Duke Econ Celebrates 10 Staff and Faculty Anniversaries »
A new faculty-led Trinity College project, which examines the politics and histories of intercollegiate athletics and athletes, will include an Economics course this Spring. “Race and the Business of College Sports” (ECON 290) is part of the new “Black in Blue: The Sports and Race Project” – a project that includes classes, public events, workshops and podcasts as it critically studies race and sports at Duke, within its geographic placement, and beyond. “Race and the Business of… read more about Course on Race and College Sports Offered this Spring »
Bringing an exciting new group of economics scholars together for the first time is one of the highlights of every fall semester. But it’s one of the many things that looks different in the midst of COVID-19. The annual Ph.D. orientation session went online for the second year in a row. However, students were still able to kick off their Duke careers with an in-person event in August, including a campus tour and a happy hour outside of Economics’ home in the Social Sciences Building. The 2021 cohort was also joined by… read more about Two Ph.D. Cohorts Welcomed to Campus This Fall »
Choosing a major is a significant step in your academic journey. But as an economics major, many more decisions remain. Do you want to focus on micro- or macroeconomics? Applied or theoretical? Individual behavior or firm strategy? Public goods or markets, and if markets, formal or informal? Then there’s asset pricing, international development, industrial organization and labor economics, not to mention monetary policy and econometrics — and, of course, the history of economic thought in each of those areas, plus many… read more about Duke Econ Launches Mentorship Program for Majors »
Department: The Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University Years at Duke: 6 Number of employees: 20 Who they are: Named after Samuel DuBois Cook, the first Black faculty member at Duke, the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity studies the causes and consequences of inequality and develops remedies for unfair disparities and their adverse effects. “We are Duke’s only center that is devoted intensively to problems of inequality,”… read more about Department Spotlight: Cook Center Shines a Light on Inequality »
Senior year for Duke’s Class of 2020 did not go as expected. As they look toward their long-delayed, eagerly anticipated, in-person commencement ceremony on Sept. 26, members of the Class of 2020 share their memories of Duke and how they learned to cherish ordinary moments of connection and community. Katie Cassedy Katie graduated in 2020 with an economics major and a minor in visual media studies. She is currently a UK Agency Associate in LinkedIn’s Business… read more about The Class of 2020 Remembers Duke »
DURHAM, N.C. — During the decade-long economic recovery following the Great Recession, Black households lost much more wealth than white families, regardless of class or profession, according to new research from Duke University’s Samuel DuBois Cook Center for Social Equity. Notably, while most other groups experienced an economic recovery between 2010 and 2019, Black professionals suffered losses in wealth, the authors found. Meanwhile, Black working-class families remained in the worst overall economic position. As a… read more about Race, Not Job, Predicts Economic Outcomes for Black Households »
Unemployment benefits aimed at helping people during the pandemic expire Sept. 6, which could lead to a surge in job seekers as $300 per week supplemental unemployment payments end. Connel Fullenkamp, a professor of the practice of economics at Duke, says there’s good reason to believe this scenario. “Economists have estimated that nearly half of those unemployed during the pandemic recession earned a higher effective wage from their unemployment benefits than they did on the job,” says Fullenkamp, who is also director of… read more about Pandemic Unemployment Benefits End Sept. 6. It's Not Simple as to What This Will Do to the Labor Market »
